LIBRARY SERVICES AT THE CULTURAL INTERFACE
Rather than the brute consequence of a formidable technology, the
achievement of literacy appeared as a delicate interplay of social, cultural,
economic, political, and even geographic forces. In other words, social
context organizes literacy, rather than the other way around…. What
literacy does to you depends on what you do with it.
Inge Kral, Talk, Text and Technology (2012)
Presented at the 2012 New Norcia Library Lecture
by Damien Webb
Indigenous Literacy Project Officer
(Better Beginnings – State Library of Western Australia)
Memory institutions such as museums, galleries and libraries have a
long and proud history of documenting, preserving and promoting
heritage, history, literature and culture. Far from being simply
repositories or collections, these institutions form a core part of
Western literacy culture, and are increasingly becoming involved in
social history and community created content. Libraries are unique
amongst these memory institutions in the pivotal role that they play in
helping to socialise and contextualise many of our Western literacy
practices. As Kral and other researchers have noted, “literacy practices in
Western society are patterned by social institutions”1. Libraries are a
cornerstone of Western literacy culture and help to reinforce and
support dominant and socially relevant literacies – namely nonAboriginal print literacy concepts such as reading and writing, and more
recently information literacy. Aboriginal literacies are not part of this
domain, and given that the culture of literacy is tied directly to the
culture of libraries, this can have a profound effect on Aboriginal
engagement with library services.
For many of us who work within them it is easy to forget that library
spaces and services are not intuitive and that they require specific
1
Inge Kral, Talk, Text and Technology
experiences and skills to navigate. Library culture needs to be learned,
and understanding the most basic library systems such as borrower
rights, cataloguing, subject headings and client responsibilities is a
complex and cumulative process. In truth these skills are usually
developed over many years through a combination of ‘overt and covert
language and literacy socialisation functions’2 such as bedtime stories,
library visits, school library lessons and home literacy activities. The
library serves a dual social purpose: to store and preserve literacy
objects, and to support literacy practices which reflect the current,
dominant modes of literacy.
The simple truth is that libraries depend on the literate public for much
of their relevance and use, and for this reason they must actively work
to encourage the next generation of readers, writers and researchers.
Public and state libraries in particular are running more and more
activities and services which model positive literacy behaviours and
provide opportunities for ‘literacy events’3 to occur regularly.
Rhymetime and Storytime sessions are occurring throughout the
Western Australian library network, and reached more than 92,000
2
3
Inge Kral , Talk, Text and Technology
Deborah Brandt and Katie Clinton: Limits of the Local
parents and babies between 2006 and 20104. The National Year of
Reading has promoted a wide range of library led literacy and reading
initiatives, and numerous workshops and festivals such as black&write5
and LibraryHack6 are encouraging client and community creativity, and
ensuring that libraries continue to reflect and engage with the many
facets of contemporary Western literacy culture. Many libraries now
also have dedicated family and cultural spaces like The Place (SLWA) or
Kuril dhagun (SLQ). This growing focus on inclusive client engagement
is also expressed in references to creativity, culture and community
within SLWA’s strategic framework7. It is becoming evident that in order
for clients to engage meaningfully with library services and collections,
the library must attempt to reflect part of their own personal culture.
Reading, writing, speaking, listening and information-seeking skills are
essential components of Western literacy culture. Libraries exist as part
of this framework and as such are generally compatible with the daily
literacy experiences, requirements and perspectives of the majority of
people living in towns, cities and suburbs. Unfortunately for many
Aboriginal people in remote Western Australia this is not true, and a
4
Better Beginnings Evaluation Data, 2009/10
http://www.slq.qld.gov.au/whats-on/awards/blackwrite
6
http://libraryhack.org/
7
SLWA Strategic Framework 2009-2011, 2012-2014
5
large number of families have never set foot in a library building.
Distance (often upwards of 200km) is a major factor, as is the lack of
awareness in Aboriginal communities about role their local library plays
and the services it offers. More importantly, core Western literacy
concepts differ from traditional Aboriginal concepts of information,
ownership and literacy, and there is often no clear crossover between
these two cultures.
Professor Martin Nakata, chair of Australian Indigenous Education
describes this area as the cultural interface8 – the third space9 where
Indigenous children navigate between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal
knowledge. Nakata posits that this cultural interface is a particularly
rugged place to be, and that Aboriginal Children “need higher order
language and thinking skills to navigate through the complex spaces in
which the contemporary Indigenous knowledge, cultures and everyday
world of practices now sits”10Unlike Aboriginal culture or Western
literacy culture this interface cannot be navigated intuitively. What is
particularly interesting about this approach is that instead of trying to
close the cultural ‘gap’ it calls for a mapping of this space in order for
8
The cultural interface, Nakata 1997
As above
10
Pathways for Indigenous Education in the Australian Curriculum Framework, Professor Martin
Nakata, 2011
9
people to safely navigate it. It is the responsibility of library and
information institutions to step into this space and to demystify their
own collections, services and ways of working in order to create an entry
point for their Aboriginal clients. The ‘gap’ is never going to be closed,
but people can and do learn to become bicultural when armed with the
right tools and information.
The State Library of Western Australia’s Better Beginnings Family
Literacy Program is a good example of an initiative working in this space,
one which explicitly aims to give parents, children and communities the
information and tools they need to enter and navigate the cultural
interface. Many Aboriginal families fully understand that their children
need to be bilingual and bicultural; that their own Language and Law
must be taught alongside Standard Australian English in order to
maximise their children’s chances of educational, vocational and social
success outside of the community.
For many Aboriginal people the ability to speak their own Language is a
powerful and affirming part of their cultural identity. Additionally,
Standard Australian English is a second, third or fourth language for
many Aboriginal families in remote communities. The distinct lack of
printed literacy objects in communities and the lack of access to quality
print materials serve to further undermine the importance of print
literacy. While there are developmental and health factors that can
impair early literacy and language development, the larger issue
remains the relevance and prevalence of Western print literacy to
Aboriginal people and in the communities they live and work in. While
Standard Australian English will probably never be the dominant mode
of communication in many remote Aboriginal communities, there are
steps that can be taken to provide families with the resources and
context required to draw Western print literacy concepts into their own
literacy culture. With a lack of books, libraries and literacy support in
communities there will continue to be a disconnect between Aboriginal
families and literacy practices; how can the importance of early print
literacy skills be understood when there are no books to read, no places
to read them, and no reason to enjoy them?
Since 2004 the Better Beginnings Family Literacy Program has connected
with families to provide them with the tools they need to support the
development of effective home literacy practices. By actively engaging
with parents and young children through the public library network the
program has sought to create positive and meaningful early literacy
interactions by encouraging parents to read to their children every
day11. Families are supported in their understanding of the role that
reading, speaking and listening plays in early cognitive and social
development, and encouraged to connect with their local library service.
In addition to the universal program, Better Beginnings is now working
with more than 900 parents and children in 100 remote Aboriginal
communities to deliver culturally appropriate literacy resources to areas
that traditional library services have not reached.
The program delivers explicit information directly to families in order to:
 develop and support home literacy practices,
 remove barriers to literacy engagement and enjoyment, and
 demystify library services and culture.
For this reason the resources that are sent by Better Beginnings to
Aboriginal communities have been carefully selected to maximise their
inclusivity and their portrayal of Aboriginal worldviews and experiences.
Research has demonstrated that the inclusion of recognisable animals,
11
Better Beginnings Evaluation Data, 2009/10
places and people is likely to stimulate the cultural and social aspects of
literacy by encouraging parents and children to read, retell and discuss
the stories. In this way literacy becomes much more holistic and
intrinsic; learning to read is not just a ‘school thing’, but a part of daily
life with tangible connections to community culture.
Example: The Cowboy Frog, by Hylton Laurel – hand out copies?
What this book does right:
-Language is in English and Walmajarri, rich SAE and a good
variety of words.
-The perspective is Aboriginal and the story is from the POV of a
child living at Millijiddee Station (outside Fitzroy Crossing).
-The story is fun, clever, logical and witty.
-There are clear connections to contemporary community
culture.
The Better Beginnings resources are sent directly to a distributor who
has been nominated by the community, chairperson, board or office. By
providing these reading packs and literacy resources directly to families
through a trusted, local contact, the program aims to create a
meaningful link between community culture, family life and printed
literacy. Families are given the opportunity to engage with culturally
relevant, high-quality children’s literature in their own homes and using
their own modes of literacy. In addition to printed picture books the
program provides alphabet charts, Storytime and Rhymetime DVDs, tshirts, booklists and newspapers to cater for not only differing levels of
literacy, but also different literacies entirely. Feedback to date supports
this, and parents with little or no English language skills have reported
that the DVDs in particular provide a way to expose their children to
Standard Australian English in the home that otherwise would not have
existed. Accompanying pamphlets, DVDs and brochures explicitly
unpack aspects of Western literacy culture, and opportunities for print
literacy to be used in the Aboriginal cultural domain are created.
There are currently 100 communities in Western Australia who are
receiving the Better Beginnings resources and messages, and these are
spread literally across the entire state. While it is easier to recognise the
edges of the cultural interface when we discuss the intersection of
remote Aboriginal communities and Western library services, this
becomes much more difficult when we look at Aboriginal families living
in towns and cities. It is tempting to assume that since these two
cultures are geographically located in the same space their differences
may be less profound. Unfortunately many Aboriginal families who live
in towns or cities with library services and other literacy infrastructure
are still socially and culturally isolated. This stems from the fact that the
cultural interface is still in play, despite appearances to the contrary.
Through Better Beginnings the State Library of Western Australia is
providing support and training for public library staff who work in towns
and cities with large Aboriginal populations to assist them in creating
inclusive library spaces and services. It is well and good to arm
Aboriginal families with literacy skills and cultural tools, but Western
literacy institutions must also be ready and willing to deal with
Aboriginal collections, requests and clients.
Many library services have grown accustomed to having few or no
regular Aboriginal clients, and the number of Aboriginal library and
information professionals is still comparatively low. It is hard for these
services to meet the needs of clients who are largely unknown, and the
idea of community consultation is often daunting. Through Better
Beginnings’ Engaging Aboriginal clients with library services workshops,
library staff are provided with templates, engagement models, dates of
significance, background information and collection suggestions – all
designed to make the first few steps into the cultural interface as logical
and easy as possible. This has had a profound effect on community
relations in areas where staff members were keen and ready to engage
Aboriginal clients, but were too concerned about the risks of doing or
saying the wrong thing.
Narrogin example:
-Staff very intelligent and very keen to be inclusive.
-Staff were unsure how to deal with potential issues and were
increasingly concerned that problems may become worse if dealt with
incorrectly or inappropriately. Other clients and staff were being
disrupted by children climbing on furniture and running amok.
-Training session provided: during the workshop we discussed what was
actually happening, and what staff were perceptions were. Also
discussed some of the cultural and social issues that are behind these
behavioural problems. Thirdly the library space itself was not
particularly inclusive to Aboriginal culture, languages or worldviews.
-Staff quickly determined that there was nothing to occupy the children
who were coming in. The fact that they were unaccompanied did not
guarantee that they were truants or were from unstable homes – many
Aboriginal children are encouraged to be very independent.
This feeling of uneasiness is a classic symptom of working at the cultural
interface12 and is particularly profound when there is a lack of
knowledge and experience to be guided by. When faced with the
prospect of working in a context or culture that is unknown many
people will instinctively retreat back to the safer confines of what they
do know, and this is as true for elderly Aboriginal women in
Tjuntjuntjara as it is for young men in Nedlands. The universality of this
discomfort is particularly fascinating and reinforces the idea that while
cultural differences and certain ‘gaps’ will never be fully closed, there
are essential aspects of human nature which transcend them.
Patience, empathy, curiosity, humour, honesty and family are
universally human, and must inform the way in which we approach the
cultural interface. There are no right answers, and the changing nature
12
The cultural interface, Nakata 1997
of culture ensures that every trip into the interface will be as inspiring as
it is challenging.